Tumbler for combination locks



Oct. 3, 1933. w DQENGES' 1,928,853

TUMBLER FOR COMBINATION LOCKS Filed March 4, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct.3, 1933. w DOENGES 1,928,853

TUMBLER FOR COMBINATION LOCKS Filed March 4, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Oct 3, 1933 UNlTE-D STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

My invention relates to a tumbler for use in combination or permutationlocks, and has particular reference to a tumbler having anormally-closed tumbler opening. While primarily 5 intended for use inconnection with new look constructions, my improved tumbler may be madeof such a shape and size that it can be used to replace the conventionaltumblers now generally used in combination and permutation lockinstallations, in which installations the tumblers have a normally opentumbler opening which may be rendered visible irom'the exterior of thelock casing by the use of certain forms of electric rays. 1

In the usual construction of combination or permutation locks of therotating tumbler type, such, for example, as the well known and widelyused combination lock made by The Yale & Towne Manufacturing'Company,each tumbler is provided with an opening or recess which, when properlyalined with the like openings of its adjacent, associated tumblers,permits the cooperating lock bolt to enter the series of alined recessesto effect the release of the locking member, whereby the door or otherclosure with which the lock is associated, may be released and moved toopen position. In such constructions, the proper alinement of theopenings of the respective tumblers requires a prior'k'nowledge'of apredetermined combination or tumbler setting. Recent developments andimprovements in the art relating to X-rays and the gamma rays of radiumhave led to the production of relatively simple, portable apparatus forthe generation of rays which will penetrate an ordinary lock casing andits associated parts to render the tumbler openings or recesses readilyvisible from the exterior of the casing, and hence, it is acomparatively easy matter for a burglar or other person not knowing thelock combination or tumbler setting, to resort to the use of suchapparatus to determine the relative position of the tumbler openings andto aline the openings of the associated tumblers so as to effect therelease of z the lock mechanism and the door or other closure with whichthe lock mechanism is associated.

It is an object of my invention to provide a tumbler for use incombination or permutation locks, in which the tumbler openingv isnormally closed so that it cannot be rendered visible from the exteriorof the casing by the use of certain forms of electricrays.

It is an object of my invention to provide a tumbler for use incombination or permutation locks in. which the tumbler opening isnormally closed, and, hence, not visible from the exterior of the lockcasing when subjected to penetration by certain forms of electric rays,the construction being such that the normal closure means for thetumbler opening may be moved to expose the 00 opening only when thetumbler openings of all the cooperating tumblers are properly alined andthe tumbler-engaging portion of the associated lock mechanism is movedinto said alined openings.

It is an object of my invention to provide a. tumbler for use incombination or permutation locks of the rotary tumbler type, in whichthe tumbler opening is normally closed by a sliding plate which occupiessaid opening, the construction being such that this plate can be movedinwardly by the tumbler engaging portion of the lock mechanism, when thetumbler openings of the cooperating tumblers are properly alined to thuspermit the said tumbler engaging portion of the lock mechanism to enterthe tumbler openings to permit the release of the door or closure jwithwhich the lock is associated.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a tumbler of the typeabove described and including means for changing or varying thecombination orsetting of the tumblers to control the point in the cycleof rotation of the respective tumblers whereby their rotation istransmitted to the adjacent tumbler to eiiect the alining of the severaltumbler openings.

' It is a further object of my invention to provide a tumbler for use incombination or permutation looks that may be used in the construction ofnew lock mechanisms or for the replacement or substitution ofconventional rotary tumblers now ordinarily employed in such lockmechanisms, my improved tumbler being simple in construction,

cheap and easy to manufacture, strong and durable, readily adjustable tovary the combination or setting, and highly eflicient in' the purposesfor which designed.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification andwherein, for the purpose of illustration, I have shown a preferredembodiment of 'my invention,

Figure 1 is an exploded view showing in perspective the severalcomponent parts employed in the manufacture of my improved tumbler, andalso showing a portion of the post and the snap ring usually employedwith lock mechanisms of this general type for supporting and retainingthe tumblers, r

Figure 2 is a plan view of a completely assembled tumbler embodying myinvention,

Figure 3 is a plan view of a partial or incomplete assembly of thetumbler,

Figure 4 includes plan and side views of one form of tool or instrumentwhich may be em- 5 ployed'to assist in resetting the combination of thetumblers,

Figure 5 is a plan view of a partial or incomplete assembly of thetumbler showing the sliding plate or closure in inner or non-closingposition, M

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view on the lines 66 of Figure 2,

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view on line 7'1 of Figure 2,

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view on the line 88 of Figure 2, and AFigure 9 is a side elevation of my improved tumbler construction.

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te eti he r n here nd terminates n a hp t hdihs t hler flan e 1.6 the uo t en it el sai he memb r havi a rna diam ter s i h l ea er t the m tero the Be t wher he m le c be tably mehht 9 ai nes W th e n a he hbehlt Iwent a a o r a v l a springs 17, each secured at diametrically oppo-. ites O h emher l b mean 9 ivets or other fastening means 18, the centralportion of each of these spring members lying flat against th well 9 t aber a d th pp site nds of said springs flexing @Wfl IOm said wall.

A ember 9 hav n a dis flike o po 2!? te ded. wi a ce tral eve in 21 ofslightly re ter d am ter th n t e ub 5, is mounted en the said hu l5efor th flan e 16 is tur ed up or formed. This member 19. is slightlyless in diameter than the annular chamber 14, and is previded w th a priph al fla e 2 which extends to one side only of said member, the outerface of this flange being inclined and proyicled with a plurality ofteeth 23, it being under,- stpod that this member 19 is freely rotatableentire hub 15 and within the annular chamber lfl and that the springs 17engage the back of this member and tend to force the same away from theback wall of the annular chamber 14. The peripheral flange 22 is cutaway as indicated at 24, A fly ring 25 havin a fly member 26 ismounted-on the hub 15 prior to the turningeup or forming of theflange'lG, with the fly 26 extend: ing into the output portion 24 of theflange 22. The annular flange 1.6 is then turned up or otherwise formedto retain the members on the'hub 15, it beingunderstood that bothmembers 19 and 25 are freely rotatable with respect to the hub 15,andthat the engagement of the flyl26 with the ends of the cut outportion 24, permits or otherwise secured to. the face of the body member4 and is provided with diametrically opposite, arcuate openings 29 whichextend completely through the said annular member 2'7, each of theseopenings having arcuate plug members 30 inserted therein. I r

The outer walls of the openings 29 are V-shaped in cross section asshown at 31 in Fig. 8, and the outer walls of the plug members 30 arecorrespondingly' shaped, the relative shape and size of these plugmembers with respect to the open ings 29 permitting said plugs to bemoved inwardly a short distance but preventing said plugs from fallingout of i the said openings 29 when assembled therein, it being notedthat said plugs 30 normally project a short distance beyond the outerside wall of the annular member 27 as best shown in Fig. 8. The innerside and bottom edges of each of the plug members 30 are cut away orinclined to correspond to the inclination of the teeth '23 on the flange22 of the member 19, these inclined surfaces preferably being-smooth orflat, i. e., devoid of teeth. In Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings Ihave shown a form of tool 32 having depending portions 33 at each endthereof, the distance between the centers of these depending portions 33being approximately the same as the distance between thediametricallyopposite plug members 30 of the tumbler construction abovedescribed.

In order to transmit rotation of one tumbler to the adjacent tumblers bymeans of the usual pin and fly connection, I provide on the back of eachtumbler a projection 34 which, when the tumblers are properly assembledon the tumbler post 1, will extend into the face of the adjacent tumblerto engage the fly 26 to transmit the rotation of one tumbler to itsadjacent cooperating tumbler. In the accompanying drawings I have shownthe pin or projection 34 arranged on the back of the body portion 4 in aline with the tumbler opening 6, but in manufacturing my improvedtumblers I prefer to arrange these plugs at different positions withrespect to said tumbler opening, i. e., the position of said pin orprojection 34 will vary in each one-hundred tumblers manufactured.

When a plurality of these tumblers made in accordance with my presentinvention are assembled on the post 1, the first 'of said tumblers isrotated on said post through the instrumentality of an operating knob,operating shaft and primary drive wheel, all of which are old and wellknown mechanisms, the construction and operation of whichis obvious tothose skilled in the art. Due to the pin and fly connection existingbetween adjacent tumblers, the rotation of the first of the tumblers istransmitted to the second tumbler and so on through the four or fivetumblers arranged on the post 1. A proper manipulation of the operatingknob, which manipulation requires a prior knowledge of the combinationor setting of the tumblers, brings all of the tumbler openings 6 inalinement, whereupon the inner or fence end of the lock bolt can moveinto the normally closed tumbler openings 6 to permit the releasing ofthe lock mechanism, the inward movement of said inner or fence end ofthe lock bolt forcing the plate 7 of each tumbler inwardly against thespring 13 to a position corresponding to that shown in Fig; 5 of theaccompanying drawings. As soon as the lock mechanism is closed, i. e.,the inner or fence end of the lock bolt 'is removed from the tumbleropenings, the spring 13 moves to its normal position and forces theplate '7 outwardly to again close the tumbler opening. During the inwardand outward movements of the plate 7, said plate is guided by theengagement between the grooves or notches 9 and the adjacent walls ofthe body member which define the opening 6, it being noted that when theplate 7 is in its inner position, it occupies a position within theannular chamber 14 between the inner wall of said chamber and the rearwall 20 of the annular member 19. It will thus be seen that I haveprovided a construction in which the tumbler opening is normally closedso that it cannot be rendered visible from the exterior of the casing bythe use of certain forms of electric rays, and in which the normalclosure means for the tumbler opening may be moved to expose the saidopening only when the tumbler openings of all the cooperating tumblersare properly alined and the tumbler-engaging portion of the associatedlock mechanism is moved into said alined openings to permit the releaseof the door or closure with which the lock is associated.

In order to permit the changing 'of the lock combination or setting,whereby to control the point in the cycle of rotation ofthe tumblerswhere the rotation of one tumbler is transmitted to the adjacenttumblers to effect the alining of the several tumbler openings, I haveprovided novel means for selectively varying the position of the "fiymember of'each tumbler. To this end, I provide the faces of the members4 and 27 with a series of graduations numbered in a counter-fclockwiseseries of consecutive numerals, say'from 1 to 100 inclusive, andcorresponding with the unit marks or graduations on the dial associatedwith the operating knob of the lock inechanism. The front edge of themember 19 is provided with a suitable markadapted, when the member 19 isrotated, to be brought into registry with any one of the graduations onthe members 27 and 4, it being noted that in Fig. 2 of the accompanyingdrawings, the said mark is in registry with the graduation 65, i. e.,the combination or setting for this particular tumbler is 65. To effectthe rotation of the member 19 to bring the mark thereon into registrywith any of the numerals to vary the position of the fly member 26 withrespect to the tumbler opening 6, it is necessary to engage the faces ofthe plug members 30 with a suitable instrument. for-example, the toolshown in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings, and to push the said plugmembers 30 inwardly. This moves the member 19 into the chamber 14against the springs 17 therein and disengages the teeth 23 from theteeth 28, whereupon the member 19 can be-rotated about the hub portion15 to bring the mark on said member into registration with the desiredgraduation on the member 27. As soon as the proper registration isobtained, the tool or instrument is removed from contact with the plugmembers 30and the springs 17 move the member 19 out of the chamber 14and force the teeth 23 into engagement with the teeth 28 to thereby holdthe member 19 against further rotation on the hub 15. r

' To form a newcombination or setting with the combination-changingmechanism above de-' scribed, it is necessary to remove the tumblers,

to depress the plug members 30 of the first tum bl r t dise a e theteeth 28 from the teeth 28 and to rotate the memberflo on the hub 15 themark on the edge of the ,flange22 comes opposite the numeral 10 on thetaco of the member 27. This adjusted tumbler is then replaced on thepost 1 and a washer (not shown) placed next to it, Operate the same wayfor the. second tumbler, rotating the member 20 until mark on the d f heflange 22 is opposite the numeral 20. This second tumbler is thenreplaced-on the post 1 anda washer-(notshown) placed next to it, the pinor projection 34 of the first tumbler projecting into the annular spacebetween'the flange 22 and the member :25 to engage the-fly member 26 totransmit the rotation of the first tumbler to the second tumbler. Theother two tumblers are similarly operated to set them at 30 and 40respectively, and after being placed in position on the post 1, the snapring 2 is replaced in the groove 3 to hold the tumblers on said post, itbeing understood that the flyra-nd Din connection between the primarydrive wheel and the adjacent tumbler and between the consecutivelyadjacent tumblers, transmits the rotation of the shaft to the tumblersand that by a'proper manipulation. of the knob and dial for a l020 3040"combination setting, the tumbler openings 6 are moved into axialalinement, this alinement permitting the inner or fence end of the lockbolt to engage the closure plates 7 and to move them inwardly to releasethe lock mechanism.

It is to be understood-that the form of my invention herein shown anddescribed is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and thatvarious changes may be made in the shape, size and construction of partswithout departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of thesubjoined claims, I

Having thusdescribed my invention, I claim:

1. A tumbler for combination locks comprising a body member havingaperipheral flange and a tumbler op ning extending through said flange,a sliding plate fitting within said opening and having a top flangethereon corresponding in width and thickness to the said peripheralflange, and a spring engaging beneath the top flange of the slidingplate to retain theplate in a position to normally-close the tumbleropening.

2. A tumbler for combination locks comprising a disk-like body memberhaving a peripheral flange and having a tumbler opening extendingthrough said flange, a sliding plate fitting within said tumbler openingand having a top flange thereon, and a spring engaging beneath theflanges to retain the plate in a position to normally close the tumbleropening.

3. A tumbler forcombination lockscomprising a disk-like body memberhaving a peripheral flange and having a tumbler opening extendingthrough said flange, said flange having a groove on its undersideextending on opposite sides of the tumbler opening, a sliding platefitting within said tumbler opening and having a top flange thereon,said top flange having a groove on its underside, and a springpositioned within the grooves to retain the plate in a position tonormally close the tumbler opening. a

4. A tumbler for combination locks comprising a body member having atumbleropening, a sliding plate fitting within the tumbler opening andhaving a flange extending beyond the sides of said plate, said flangebeing grooved at its ends to engage the walls defining the/tumblerpening. and a sprin en a t plate to tain the same in a position tonormally close the tumbler opening 5. A tumbler for combination lockscomprising atdisk-like body member having .a peripheral flange andhaving a tumbler opening extending through said flange, the ends of theperipheral flange terminating short of the walls defining the tumbleropening, :a sliding plate fitting within said open-ing and a top flangethereon, the ends of saidv flange extending beyond the walls definingthe tumbler opening and being grooved to engage said walls, and a springengaging beneath said'top flange to retain the plate in a position tonormally close the tumbler opening.

6. A tumbler for combination locks comprising a disk-like body having anoffset central portion forming an annular chamber, the peripheralportion of said body; having a tumbler opening therein, afly memberpositioned within said chamber and movable to a selected position todetermine the setting of the tumbler, a looking ring secured to thetumbler adjacent the annular chamber, and means for moving said annularfly member into engagement with the looking ring to retain the flymember in selected position...

7. A tumbler-for combination locks comprising a disk-like body having anoffset central portion forming an annular chamber, the peripheralportion of said body having a tumbler opening therein, an annular flymember positioned within said chamber and movable to a selected positionto determine the setting of the tumbler, a locking ring secured to thetumbler adjacent the annular chamber, resilient means for normallyretaining said fly member in engagement with the locking ring, and meansto move said fly member out of engagement with the locking ring topermit the tumbler setting to be changed.

8. A tumbler for combination locks comprising a disk-like body having anoffset central portion forming an annular chamber, the peripheralportion of saidbody having a tumbler opening therein, an annular memberpositioned within said chamber and movable, to a selected position todetermine the setting of the tumbler, said annular member having ,atoothed surface, a fly member carried by and movable with said annularmember, a locking ring secured to the tumbler adjacent the annularchamber and having a toothed surface, means for normally retaining theteeth of the annular member in engagement with the teeth of the lockingring to prevent rotation of said annular member and associated flymember independently of the body of the tumbler, and means for movingthe annular member to disengage the teeth to permit the tumbler settingto be changed.

9. A tumbler for combination locks, comprising a disk-like body havingan offset central portion forming an annular chamber, the peripheralportion of said body having a tumbler opening therein, an annular memberpositioned within said chamber and movable to a selected position todetermine the setting of the tumbler, said annular member having atoothed surface, a fly member carried by and movable with saidannularmember, a locking ring secured to the tumbler adjacent theannular chamber and having a toothed surface, a spring engaging theannular member to normally retain the teeth of said member and the teethof the locking ring in engagement to prevent rotation of said annularmember and associated fly member independently of the body of thetumbler, and means for moving the annular member to disengage the teethto permit the tumbler setting to be changed.

10. A tumbler for combination locks, comprising a disk-like body havingan offset central portion forming an annular chamber, the peripheralportion of said body having a tumbler opening therein, an annular memberpositioned within said chamber and movable to a selected position todetermine the setting of the tumbler, said annular member having aflange provided with teeth on its outer surface, a fly member carried byand movable with said annular member, a locking ring secured to thetumbler adjacent the annular chamber and having a toothed inner surface,springs mounted within the annular chamber and engaging the back of theannular member to normally retain the teeth on the flange in engagementwith the teeth on the locking ring to prevent rotation of said annularmember and associated fly member independently of the body of thetumbler, and a plug member carried by the locking ring adapted to movethe annular member to disengage the teeth to permit the tumbler settingto be changed.

WILLIAM F. DOENGES.

